Holiday Traditions & Treats
The ladies in my family have a tradition every year. We get together for our Annual Cookie Bake. I had never heard of a cookie bake until I was in college and my roommate Crystal went home every year for her family cookie bake. Now my family does the same thing!
We get together at a different house every year and we bake. Some of the ladies bake cookies, some bake bread... my Aunt Lori always makes some type of candy, my cousin Stacy makes peanut butter blossoms, and my cousin Tabitha makes her famous caramel popcorn (it’s so famous that she sells it at a local ice cream shop and her fans love it). I seem to always make some type of chocolate and pretzel thing because my late mother-in-law always made pretzels with a Rolo or Hershey's Kiss on top. I love to be able to think of her while I’m baking and tell my kids stories…plus, they are super easy to make!
The deal is, you are supposed to make a dozen for each person at the cookie bake. Then we exchange them. By the time you walk out the door, you have enough treats for your holiday platter. Naturally, we snack all day on appetizers and have a few cocktails! The men in our family know when the cookie bake is happening, and they wait patiently for their better half to come home with the treats.
It seems funny to me that we rarely have anyone who actually makes the cut-out cookies with frosting. I’m not sure why, but I’m glad, because then I get to make them with my kiddos which turns into frosting and flour all over my kitchen. By the time it’s over, my husband Brian & I are stuck decorating all these cookies. My kids usually ditch me because they got bored. Brian would never admit it, but I think he secretly enjoys it!
Last year, this same group of ladies and I went to a porch pot-making class. We had an excellent time and our pots were beautiful! Now that we know, we do not need to attend a class again because we know how to do it ourselves. This year, our tradition has morphed into the "Annual Cookie Bake & Porch Pot Party." We probably won’t be baking many cookies, but rather bringing them to exchange and then we’ll be outside or in the garage making our pots. Covid has changed us. It is still important to be together, but we'll keep our distance and stay spread out.
Family traditions are important. I’m so fortunate to have a family that enjoys spending time with each other. May you and your family have a blessed holiday season with lots of treats, laughs and memories!
Stay safe & healthy,
Sara
